Mega-Abilities
The basic concept of this rules supplement is the addition of a new type of Power that the players can use to
further fill in specific types of character concepts. The concept is based on the nice Mega-Attribute rule system
that White Wolf came up with to create superhumanly strong, intelligent and beautiful people. While this was good,
and the Enhancements were a nice touch there was one obvious application of this logic that White Wolf didn't think
of. Thus came the idea of Mega-Abilities. Mega-Abilities are to normal Abilities what Mega-Attributes are to normal
Attributes. They represent superhuman levels of skill and knowledge in a specialized field of study and training.
The way this manifests and is justified by the character is up to the player. They could say that it represents
an intuitive understanding of the Ability, or that it is a mutation in the brain which allows them to process certain
data much more easily or any number of other concepts.
Mega-Abilities are less useful than Mega-Attributes, cover less ground then them and (more often then not) have
not effect on Manna Power usage. However they cost less and are generally on the same level as Level 1 Manna Powers.
Purchasing Mega-Abilities
During character creation the character may purchase Mega-Abilities with Nova Points. There is a Mega-Ability
for each Ability listed on the character sheet. If your players have come up with some unique Abilities or White
Wolf chooses to release further ones in the future and you let them into your campaign it is probably a good idea
to let players make them into Mega-Abilities too. It costs 1 Nova Point for each level of a Mega-Ability. You have
no Manna Minimum limits on them (aside from having Manna Powers and having "erupted"). Mega-Abilities
supplement normal Abilities however, and you may not have a rating in your Mega-Ability higher than your natural
Ability. Of course, there is no such restriction in reverse. Keep in mind that you do not start out with an automatic
dot in any Ability.
If you wish to build up Mega-Abilities with Experience it costs the current rating x 3 Experience to raise them
and 3 to purchase a new one.
Using Mega-Abilities
Mega-Abilities have four main uses in the game. The first is Mega-Ability dice which allow for more success
on Ability checks. The second is they make Botching much more difficult and the third is that they can provide
a number of Techniques which are useful applications of the power. Finally Mega-Abilities make Specializations
much easier to purchase and use extensively.
Competing Mega-Abilities
Mega-Abilities represent a level of skill and knowledge in the field that is simply superhuman. However, they
do not automatically trump non-Mega-abilities. When two players compete directly simply roll dice and Mega-Ability
dice as normal for their skills to see who comes out on top. This gives highly skilled normal humans more than
a passing chance of defeating low-levels of Mega-Ability but this is because while superhuman skill is useful it
can only do so much against actual learned experience and discipline. Mega-Abilities are meant to supplement normal
Abilities, not replace them or to automatically trump those who do not have them in the same manner as Mega-Attributes.
Mega-Ability Dice Rolling
Whenever your Storyteller calls upon you to roll a certain Ability that you have a Mega-Ability for you may
get one of two bonuses for your Mega-Ability dice. First roll your standard Skill Total to determine success as
normal. Then you may choose to roll a number of Mega-Ability dice equal to your Mega-Ability. Do NOT confuse Mega-Ability
dice with Mega-Attribute dice, they have different functions and the latter is much more potent then the former.
When you roll a Mega-Ability die treat it as a normal die (any roll over 7 is a success) unless you roll a 10 (0).
If you rolla ten or zero you get two successes, not one. You may not Botch on a Mega-Ability thus if you rolled
no normal success and rolled a 1 on a Mega-Ability die it is NOT a Botch. Like in the case of Mega-Attributes you
do not loose these dice until you have lost all the dice from your normal Skill Total first due to wound penalties
and multiple actions. You may also use your Mega-Abilities to avoid botching. For every dot in your Mega-Ability
you may ignore a single one (1) that you rolled that would lead to a botch. You may distribute dots in your Mega-Attribute
between more dice and avoiding botches in any combination you please so long as the total does not exceed your
Mega-Ability rating.
Specializations
Normally you may purchase only three specializations for any one Ability. Any character with a Mega-Ability
may surpass this restriction and purchase as many additional Specializations (either with freebies or experience)
as they have levels in the Mega Ability. For example With Mega Martial Arts 2 the character could buy up to five
Specializations in Martial Arts.
Techniques
Like Enhancements are to Mega-Attributes, so Techniques are to Mega-Abilities. Basically Technique is an applied
focus of a Mega-Ability that allows the user to perfrom tasks that are literally superhuman.
Techniques are not always on and must be activated to be used. Activating a Technique costs one Manna Point
and most last either for one round or one task (Storytellers should use common sense in this respect). A free Technique
comes with the purchase of the power, however any further Techniques must be purchased at a cost of one (1) Nova
Point or three (3) experience. If the Technique requires a rating use that of the Mega-Ability. Techniques may
not be purchased more than once to get additional effects.
The list of Techniques will be given with each Ability below. Players are encouraged to make up their own using
the ones below as guidelines.
Technique Lists
Physical Mega-Abilities
Strength
Mega-Brawl:
Brawl is an often misunderstood and misrepresented Ability. While Brawl is far less elegant, fast and precise
as Martial Arts it gets the job done just as well in most cases. Brawl is based more on focused feats of strength,
grapples and brutal clobbering then on well-aimed blows but this doesn't make it less useful. Don't forget that
it is also based off Strength, saving the character from having to purchase up two stats for damage and accuracy.
Brawl is more brutal and more power-focused than Martial Arts and the Techniques represent this.
Power Blow - This Techniques lasts for one action. By winding up and measuring his opponent a brawler
smacks them with all their strength. Using this Technique adds three dice to the attacks normal Bashing damage
dice.
Grab - This Technique lasts for one action. Opponents find it hard to escape from this character. Any
time they activate this Technique they uneringly reach out and latch onto their opponents body, and can easily
prevent people from slipping loose from their grasp. Basically the character gets one automatic success to initiate
or maintain a grapple when they use this Technique.
Roll With Impact - This technique is a defensive action used by many brawlers the world over. Basically
the fighter moves with the force the blow to lessen the impact. In most cases with normal fighters the effect is
counted right into the rules (ie, you roll dice for damage). A character with this Technique may spend a Manna
Point to roll really well with one strike, adding their Mega-Brawl rating to their Bashing Soak (not their Lethal
Soak) for that one attack.
Power Smash - This Technique represents some form of superpowerful grappling technique designed to either
incapcitate or cripple an opponent with one blow. Once the character succesfully enters a Clinch with another character
they may use this Technique (at a cost of 1 Manna Point per use) to smash the opponent about with great force.
The effect adds either 1 die to Bashing damage per dot of Mega-Brawl or adds a one die penalty to all of the opponents
dicepools in the next turn for every dot of Mega-Brawl. The dicepool penalties were off on the next turn and culmative
uses of Power Smash have no additional effect.
Gang Warfare - This Technique allows one to better deal with a fight among a large number of combatants.
This Technique lasts for one turn per Manna Point spent. Basically it negates difficulty of multiple opponents
in combat on a rate of 1 per dot of Mega-Brawl.
Mega-Might:
Strength is one thing but the ability to effectively use ones strength in a number of situations is quite another.
Mega-Might grants one a level of fine control over their physical power that Mega-Strength often overlooks in place
of simply overpowering a problem. Sometimes Mega-Strength is like using an elephant gun on a fly. That's when the
less powerful but still useful Mega-Might comes into play.
Leaping - This is a less powerful but more elegant version of Manna Leap.
Using it the character can leap great distance but not neccesarily
cross-country. A favorite tactic of Mega-Might Nova's with Leaping is to
pounce from rooftop to rooftop of busy metropoli to avoid rush hour traffic.
Basically multiply the character's leaping distance by their Mega-Might
while this technique is active. Also note that leaps off over 10 meters will
often have a "hang-time" in which the character is off the ground for
sometimes an entire round. This technique stays active for one leap or
alternately it stays active for one scene at the cost of three Manna.
Throwing - This Technique allows one to toss an item expertly, achieving
maximum distance, speed and power. By spending a Manna Point the player
may distribute their Mega-Might dots in one of three ways. First they may
add to distance, adding 2 to their Might skill total for determing range.
Second they may add to damage, adding one die (bashing or lethal depending
on what is throw) per dot. Third they may add to accuracy, gaing one
automatic throwing success to hit per dot spent. The total number of dots
distributed may not exceed the character Mega-Might rating.
Herculean Lift - This Technique is nowhere near as useful as Mega-Strength
or the Lifter enhancement, but it does make the character more capable of
lifting large weights. When active this technique gives the character 30%
more lifting capacity per success rather than 20%. Combined with Lifter
some truly amazing feats of strength can be acomplished. This technique
remains active for one feat of strength or one turn whichever comes first.
Feat of Strength - A big name for a small Technique. Still this Technique
allows you to attempt to bend steel bars, force locked doors and other
catch-all feats of strength with more ease. This Technique lasts for one
action/feat of strength and it has the effect of adding one success to the
roll per dot of Mega-Might. This may not be used in conjunction with
Herculean Lift or other Techniques.
Pack Mule - A character with this Technique is used to carrying large
amounts of equipement with little or no strain. The character may add their
Mega-Might total to their Might when it comes time to deal with
encumberance. This Technique costs one Manna Point to activate for one
scene.
Mega Athletics:
The Nova with Mega Athletics has a body that responds to his reflexive needs
even before he thinks about it. Mega Athletes can catch balls thrown at the
back of their heads, jump out of the way of the car coming behind the truck
he's jumping over and perform other equally amazing and implausible acts of
Dexterity.
All Star - An All Star Nova is the ultimate athlete, each time this
enhancement is activated add three automatic successes to one die roll
involving athletic games and activities.
Catfall - The Nova can safely land from great heights using this technique.
For every level of Mega Athletics double the safe landing distance of the
Nova. Of course the Nova can extend this distance with a dice roll to land
safely from even greater heights. Instead of being able to fall one meter
per success without taking damage the hieght is doubled for each level of
Mega Athletics. At level one this is two meters at level two it is 4 meters
at level three it is eight meters and so on. This Technique remains active
for one fall.
Human Fly - For each level of Mega Athletics the character can double the
distance he can move with a successfull Athletics roll. At Mega Athletics 1
he could cover 6 meters per success, at level two he could cover 12 meters
per success and so on. This Technique lasts for one full turn of climbing.
The character may need to activate it multiple times to complete a long or
terribly difficult climb as judged by the Storyteller.
Mid Aerial Dodge - The Nova can whip crack his body in mid flight to avoid
attacks in mid-air. With this Technique the character can dodge incoming
attacks while using Manna Leap or when some one playfully launches you
across state lines with Lifter.
Proactive Dodge - As long as the Nova with Proactive Dodge has Manna he
can dodge. Proactive Dodge is an instinctive and relfexive action and takes
up none of his actions, however he can only roll his Mega Athletics dice for
each of his Proactive dodge attempts. This Technique costs one Manna per
dodge.
Mega Drive:
A driving prodigy, the Nova can milk the very last ounce of speed from a
dying car or he can outperform all expectations on an experimental state of
the art supercar. It doesn't matter as long as it has wheels and an engine,
the Nova with Mega Drive can put any car through a pace that would destroy
it in the hands of a less able driver.
Pushing It - The Nova can increase the speed of a car beyond its normal
safety limits. When normally the car would redline the driver with Mega
Drive can make a roll that extends the maximum speed of the vehicle by 10%
per success. This Technique lasts for a number of turns equal to the Mega
Drive rating of the Nova.
Rollover - If for some reason the Nova wants to make his car tumble hood
over wheels (Or some idiot with Shockwave reduces the road to scrap) he can
use this Technique to make sure the car lands on its wheels ready to drive.
Reduce the collision damage by one per success on a Mega Drive roll, and the
car automatically lands on its wheels. If the Nova gets five or more
successes on his roll he can choose which direction the car points to when
it lands.
Mega Firearms:
The pistol prodigy, a Nova with Mega Firearms could win the west on his own.
Everything from trick shots to sniper pin point accuracy can be achieved by
the Nova with Mega Firearms. In his hands even small arms become dangerous
to other Novas.
Barrage - The Nova with this technique can easily exauhst the clips of most
firearms without fouling the weapon up and causing it to jam. When active
this Technique adds one to the effective ROF of the weapon per level in Mega
Firearms. Furthermore a botch doesn't jam the weapon while this Technique
is active it simply means that the shot goes wild and all shots after that
one miss their mark too. This Technique lasts for one turn.
Bite - The Nova can shoot a hard target, such as a tank or other Nova with
Armor, at just the right angle for maximum penetration effect. Add the
level of the Nova's Mega Firearms to the Lethal damage of the shot. This
technique lasts for one shot and can only be apllied to single shot attacks.
Trick Shot - By taking an extra action to aim the Nova can eliinate most of
difficulty penalties associated with trick shots. The Nova spends one
Manna point and the difficulty of his next shot is reduced by three. This
cannot add to the accuracy of a shot so if the difficulty is standard this
Technique has no effect.
Mega Ledgerdemain:
The hand is quicker than the eye but this Nova's hands are quicker than
thought. Minor acts of magic are routine and the Nova with Mega
Ledgerdemain can use his gifts on object that should be impossible to hide
from sight without extensive preparation.
Sleight of Hand - The Nova can hide objects up to one kilogram per success
from view in plain sight of an observer. This Technique lasts until the
Nova moves the object again. Of course if the Nova leaves the object where
it is the person looking for it can easily find it with an extended roll
once he surpases the successes of the Nova.
Mega Martial Arts:
The Kung Fu masters of ancient times and the legendary gods of martial arts
can look to the Nova with Mega Martial Arts and see their superior. The
Nova with Mega Martial Arts can kick kiester in any language. Violence is
understood by everyone and avoiding it is an ability the Mega Martial Artist
can say he is a master of. Whether the Mega Martial Artist seeks to destroy
or defend his prowess insures that he will always rise to the challenge.
Butterfly Net - With this Technique the Nova can safely snag missles from
the air as long as they're within his reach. The Nova must have more
successes than his attacker unlike a normal doge or block where ties go to
the defender. For each successes beyond those of the attacker the Nova can
snag one missle from the air before it reaches its target. Arrows, spears
and bullets can all be safely caught though bullets are more dangerous
simply by the fact that there are usually a whole lot more of them than the
Nova can catch.
Crushing Blow - A weaker version of Crush, Crushing Blow adds three dice of
damage to any hand to hand attacks of the Mega Martial Arts Master. This
Technique stays active for one attack.
Cutting Wind - With this Technique the Nova can do Lethal damage with his
hand to hand attacks. The Cutting Wind attack doesn't recieve any damage
bonus from strike method and the Lethal damage can be soaked as if it were
Bashing.
Iron Skin - The Nova can add his rating in Mega Martial Arts to his Bashing
Soak total for one attack. Combined with Durability this makes the Nova
seem virtually impervious to damage. This technique lasts for one turn or
against one attack, whichever comes first. As a special note if the attack
that comes next does Lethal or Aggravated damage the Iron Skin is still used
up even though it provides no protection.
Lazy Throw - This technique relies on the strength of the attacker. By
moving with the attacker the Mega Martial Artist can turn his own strength
against him. The Mega Martial Artist must wait for the attacker to initiate
an attack then roll for a block like normal. However he must gain more
successes than the attacker and ties go to the attacker. If the Lazy Throw
is successful then the attacker must soak his own strength in damage.
Successes from the attack or defense roll do not add to this damage. This
technique lasts for one attack.
Power Block - With this Technique the Mega Martial Artist can aplly his
normal hand to hand damage to any incoming attack. In the case where the
attack originates from the body of another opponent the damage is applied
normally to his soak. If the attack is from a weapon that weapon takes
damage from the attack and if it breaks does no damage to the martial
artist. This Technique is useless against energy attacks except where the
energy is projected Kinetic force. All other rules for a block apply. This
Technique remains active for one block.
Mega Melee:
The Weapons Master is the ultimate dealer of death. A Mega Melee Nova can
cut down other Novas with weapons they thought couldn't possibly harm them.
He can cut the wings off a bee in flight or spilt a rock with a wooden
staff. The weapon becomes an extension of his body. Either that or he
becomes an extension of the weapon.
While many of these Techniques are extensions of the Attunement background
the Nova doesn't have to have Attunement to have these abilities. He simply
specializes in certain forms of Attunement and still hasn't learned the
trick of imbueing anything he touches with his Manna. This is more of a
self imposed psychological limitation than a real lack of capability.
Call - With a particular weapon that the Nova is familiar with he can use
the trick of attunement to have the weapon jump into his hands at a distance
of Attunement + Mega Melee rating in meters. To do this the Weapon must
have been in the hands of the Mega Melee Nova within the last hour and have
been Attuned at least once within the past 24 hours. This Technique costs
one Manna point and is instant, if the weapon is intercepted in mid-flight
the Nova is out of luck.
Imbue - The Mega Melee Master can attune his weapon so that it can withstand
the full force of his superhuman strength. This Technique can be used
either on a block or a strike but the effect is the same, it imbues the
weapon with the ability to withstand blows up to the Mega Strength of the
Nova. On an attack this Technique allows the Nova to use his full strength
without regard to the Strength limitations of the weapon. On a Parry the
weapon can withstand attacks up to the Mega Strength rating of the Mega
Melee Nova. For example if a Nova with Mega Strength 4 is hit by another
Nova with Mega Strength 5, the first four levels of Mega Strength would be
stopped by the Strength of the defending Nova but the last level would get
through, possibly shattering the weapon anyways.
Phoenix Blow - This Technique allows the Nova to combine a Manna power
attack with his melee attack. The most common form is a Manna bolt
released at the same time as the attack along the weapon at the point of
impact. Instead of Soaking each attack separately the defender must soak
the total damage of the attack. In addition to the Manna spent to
activate this Technique the Nova must also spend the Manna for the power
to be used in combination with it.
Power Blow - The Nova with this technique can charge a weapon that normally
does Bashing damage to do Lethal damage. The damage is still resisted with
the Bashing Soak total of the target but is recorded as Lethal on the Health
Track. This Technique lasts for one attack.
Spin - The Mega Melee Nova can spin his weapon around him at incredible
speeds to confound his enemies giving him a better chance to attack and
defend. For each level of Mega Melee this Technique reduces by one the dice
penalty for multiple actions. This Technique lasts for one Multiple Action
per turn each time it is activated.
Thrust - The Nova with this Technique can place the full force of his blow
behind his attack. When activated this Technique adds the rating of the
Nova in Mega Melee to the damage of the attack. This Technique lasts for
one attack.
Mega Pilot:
The Nova with this Mega Ability is the greatest pilot ever. If it has a
cockpit he can fly it, if it can reach 20 times the speed of sound he can
make it go faster and if it crashes into a mountain he can walk away without
a scratch.
Last Minute Ejection - The Nova just knows when he's out of time and can
eject as a free action. For obvious reasons this Technique can't be used
more than once in a turn, it's meant for the Nova to be able to eject from a
doomed craft even if he has no actions left and the ground is three meters
away.
Nosing 'er Up - The Nova with this Technique can reduce the damage of a
crash by angling the craft to land on its broad surface. For each success
on a Mega Pilot roll reduce the damage of a crash by one. This Technique
lasts for one crash.
Pushing The Envelope - The Nova can increase the speed of a craft beyond its
normal safety limits. When normally the vehicle would redline the pilot
with Mega Pilot can make a roll that extends the maximum speed of the
vehicle by 10% per success. This Technique lasts for a number of turns
equal to the Mega Pilot rating of the Nova.
Mega Stealth:
Ninjas and cats are in awe of your grace and stealthiness. With this Mega
Ability it is posible to suprise even Novas with Mega Perception.
Cold Touch - The Nova can control how much heat he radiates making him
invisible to thermal scanning and passive infrared. This Technique stays
active for one scene.
Deaden - The fine hairs on the skin of the Nova with this technique vibrate
in counterpoint to any sound he might make. Other forms of deaden exist it
depends mostly on the Nova in question. Some hold all the sound inside a
Telekinetis or Electromagnetic field that surrounds their body and some just
don't make any sound to begin with. This Technique counters the
Hyperenhanced Hearing Enhancement and increases by three the difficulty for
people to hear the Nova. This Technique stays active for one scene.
Scentless - The Nova with this Technique has mastered the ability of hiding
his scent. This can take various forms, either the Nova smells like
something other than a human being or he can disguise his scent as something
else or it could also be that he has no scent whatsoever. This Technique
counters the Bloodhound Enhancement. This Technique stays active for one
scene.
Shadow - The Nova is fast enough and discreet enough to stay out of sight
while remaining exactly behind a person. This Technique is very confusing
to Novas with Ultraperipheral Vision as all they see is a blurred shadow
that always remains at their six o'clock. This will make a Nova very
paranoid but unless the Nova with Shadow is seen by a third person or takes
hostile action against the Nova he is shadowing then there is no way he can
confirm his suspicions short of a blind attack on the most likely position
of his Shadow. This Technique stays active for one scene.
Silentfall - This Technique allows the Nova to fall within his normal safe
jumping distance without making a sound. This Technique is incompatible
with Manna Leap but is a perfect complement to the Mega Might Technique of
Leaping. this Technique remains active for one jump or fall.
Slow Tread - With this Technique the Nova can judge the proper speed he
needs to walk at so as to not set up waves of air that will travel in front
of him alerting people with sensitive skins to his presence. This Technique
counters the Analytic Touch/Taste Enhancement. It also allows the Nova to
shadow Novas with Intuition and Premonition as long as he takes no hostile
action against them.
